2019 Tax Rate Rises 2.09%
As reported by the Fairfield Citizen, our tax rate will rise 2.09% next year (2018-19), after a relatively calm budget season, an increase that is roughly in line with the current rate of inflation (e.g., the COLA for social security benefits for 2018 was 2.0% after no increase in 2015 and a near-zero 0.3% increase in 2016). As we have noted previously, the underlying 2.2% increase in overall spending is being driven by another unsustainable 3.0% increase for the Board of Education and a 1.3% increase for all other Town costs and expenses. With its latest 3% increase, BOE spending is up 15% over the last five years despite a 4% decline in enrollments. Read Article 5.18.18
Malloy's Proposed Budget Would Cut Fairfield's Education Aid by $3.2 million
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed budget for 2018-19 aims to redistribute education funding more aggressively to the state’s lowest-performing school districts than is currently slated. Malloy wants to send the state’s 33 lowest-performing districts $10.6 million on top of a $16.3 million increase promised by the legislature in the two-year budget it adopted last fall. The new budget proposals represent adjustments for the second year of that plan. The increases for the low-performing districts would be paid for by canceling $15 million in scheduled education increases to the remaining cities and towns and cutting those districts by $62.5 million instead. Read more: CT Mirror 2/5/18
Fairfield Budget Process Starts To Pick Up Steam
The Board of Education adopted its proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2019 on Thursday, which will be forwarded to the first selectman, who has spent the month of January reviewing his department heads’ budget proposals. As has been the practice, the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance are scheduled to hold seven joint budget hearings in March. Department heads appear before the boards to answer questions and advocate for their individual budget requests. Before switching to joint hearings, department heads had to appear before both boards in separate meetings. Though there are joint hearings, the two boards conduct separate meetings when it comes time to approve a proposed budget. When they adopted their meeting schedule in December, some finance board members questioned whether the joint hearing practice should continue. At that time, Chairman Tom Flynn said he had heard from members about how the Board of Selectmen vote before the Board of Finance does, giving them “credit” for some cuts that may have been brought up by finance board members. Read More: Fairfield Citizen 1/26/18